wok for 1000

today was awesome. last week i mentioned i was planning to spend the day helping do my bit for charity, but i think i underestimated just what that meant. i imagined peeling potatoes and cutting up carrots, and basically prepping lots of veg while real chefs did the important and hard work. what today was though, was not that. it was incredible. it was inspiring. it was important. and i have come away feeling empowered. i know that today i have helped make a difference, and that feels epic.

under the watchful eye of the school of wok's jeremy pang, 200 volunteers donned their paper hats and crowded into the market hall at borough market this morning for a great cause. the plan for the brigade of novice cooks (and me: basically a chef) was not just to participate in the school's biggest cooking class to date, but to also do some good for the local community by prepping, cooking and packaging more than 1000 homemade meals to be delivered to charities and organisations across london - to feed those in need.

the school's mission has always been to provide fun hands-on opportunities to the public, with their range of asian-inspired cookery classes and corporate events; this time though, they partnered with plan zheroes and supper london to take that one step further. plan zheroes' aim is to eradicate food waste in the capital by connecting businesses (with excess food) with charities in london (who need food), like a dating app. a really, really good dating app. and supper london? well, they're unlike any food delivery service you've ever seen. ever.

i feel really lucky to have been able to participate. especially as i didn't have to take any time off to help out, as my work allow all their staff two charity days a year to use as we like - not something a lot of businesses do; so you see, i am very lucky. and, while i was there not only to help make 5000 spring rolls (seriously), but as "press", and to help spread the word about the event, the charities, and how you can get involved next time (here), others were there for different reasons. some were there on team bonding away days. some were there representing for their companies on a csr level. some were just there because it was a great cause. really, it didn't matter why everyone was there, just that they were there. so again, today was great; i feel great.